Chelsea vs Ajax live: Score and latest updates as Blues look to maintain strong form in Champions League clash – UK Times

Chelsea are the only side yet to give a single minute to a player aged 30+ in the Champions League this season.

Only two English sides have gone three or more games without fielding a player in their 30s – Liverpool in 2002-03 (6) and Spurs in 2016-17 (6).

“A meeting of new and old at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea named the second youngest starting 11 an English club has ever fielded in the Champions League (average age 22 years, 163 days).

“Ajax pick the third oldest player, recalling 41-year-old goalkeeper Remko Pasveer, who is so old that when he was born, Chelsea were in the old Division 2.”

With Ajax on a five-game losing run in major European competition, this will be the seventh time Chelsea have faced a team who’ve lost their last 5+ games in Europe.

They’ve won their previous six by an aggregate score of 14-0.

The only English teams to lose against a side on such a run are Man City in 1970 vs Linfield in the Cup Winners’ Cup and Man Utd in 2019 vs Astana in the Europa League.

Ajax have lost their last five major European competition matches (three in Europa League last season, first two Champions League games this season).

They haven’t lost six in a row since doing so between April 1988 and September 1989.

Chelsea have lost just two of their last 12 Champions League matches at Stamford Bridge (nine wins, one draw D1).

Both defeats were against Real Madrid in quarter-finals in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

The Blues are unbeaten in their last 12 group games at Stamford Bridge (eight wins, four draws) since a Valencia victory back in September 2019.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has emphasised that discipline “is something that we have to improve” after his side picked up four red cards across their last six matches.

This is the third European meeting between Chelsea and Ajax, having met twice in the 2019-20 Champions group stage.

The Blues won 1-0 in Amsterdam, before a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Ajax XI: Pasveer; Rosa, Sutalo, Baas, Itakura; Taylor, Gloukh, McConnell; Moro, Weghorst, Godts

Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Caicedo, Fofana, Adarabioyo, Hato; Lavia, Fernandez; Estevao, Buonanotte, Gittens; Guiu

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